Page 39 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

“I want. . .no, I need. . . Knots. . .now!” she whines. We lose all sense of self as she invites us into her nest.

I don’t remember much after the need to rut took over; all my coherent thoughts pushed aside for more primal urges. My instincts take over, and all I can feel and taste is the sweet nectar of Mercy’s peach scent. The writhing of our naked bodies as we relentlessly fulfill her needs over and over again. The sounds of pleasure, moans and groans, the praise, the slapping of flesh, the taste of sweat-soaked skin under my tongue. The feel of my knot locking inside the warmth of her pussy, as I fuck her from behind. The feral growls as my hand seeks to push my cum back inside her, keeping it there where it belongs. Finally, the taste of blood on my tongue as I claim her again, re-marking her, my brothers doing the same as we make good on our promises to do it properly. All the while she begs and pleads for more, as days turn into nights and nights turn into days. In the end, when the fog clears, waking up in a pile of naked limbs, not knowing where I begin or end. I feel the comfort and contentment of my pack, in the middle of it all our Omega, our Alpha, our Mercy.

* * *

MERCY

“Merry Christmas,” I say to Faith, my hand wrapped tightly in hers, as I fight back the tears in my eyes at the sight of my battered sister. She is alive, and she will heal eventually. I smile, refusing to think about everything that’s happened the last few days. The fog of my sudden and unexpected heat has cleared, and now I am left to deal with the fallout of my compounded trauma. The best way I can do that is to redirect my thoughts elsewhere instead of letting it swallow me whole, like it did after the fire.

“Technically, Christmas is over, but the actual day is relative, I mean, come on, we all know it’s not Jesus’s birthday.” Freeya’s laugh rings out from my phone, her smile bright. She insisted on a video chat because she wanted to be here in spirit.

My entire family is crowded into Faith’s room in the VIP wing. Grace sits next to me with our brand-new sleeping nephew, who she places in Faith’s arms for her to hold. Alister, James, Kennan, and Shun surround her, beaming with pride at the sight of their new addition. Knight, Nate, Lox, and Trey stand on the opposite side of the room behind my parents, who sit in chairs right next to Faith’s bed.

“I guess you’re right, Free. When we celebrate Christmas is unimportant. What matters is that we are here together,” I say with a smile and joy in my heart. I look around at the people I love and realize that I don’t want these moments to be fleeting. I feel as if I missed out on so much of their lives when I ran, and I don’t want to squander it for another minute. I want to spend holidays, birthdays, and all the celebrations in between with them all.

“I’m just happy that all my daughters are in the same room,” my mother replies, wiping away a stray tear from her eyes. My father Edward wraps his arm around her and holds her close.

After my heat broke, the guys told me what happened after I stumbled out of the front doors of the church. Honestly, when I entered the church foyer, my intention was to knock over the tall votive candles to create a distraction, to do anything to give me an advantage. What I didn’t consider was how fast the fire would spread, trapping Christopher and Derrick inside as the church burned down around them.

Do I feel guilty? No. But I am sure that will be something else I need to add to my running list of worries for my therapist. But no one in this room even mentions Christopher’s death and I think my mother and Edward will find a way to come to terms with everything he did in their own time. Right now, keeping things light for Faith is what’s most important.

“Well, don’t worry, Momma, you may as well get used to seeing us all the time,” Grace says mischievously, “you’ll be seeing me a lot, my wonderful babysitter.” She winks, making us all laugh. My mother rolls her eyes playfully, but baby Timothy better get ready for his first piano lesson.

“He’s beautiful,” Faith says, her bandaged arms hold out Timothy towards me, and I hesitate for just a second before I stand and delicately wrap my arms around him and cradle his tiny body to mine. Sitting, I settle in next to Grace, my eyes shifting to my mates, their eyes searching mine wishfully. Not yet, boys, not yet,I think to myself as I lean in and give my nephew a good sniff and sigh as he lets out the cutest little baby yawn. Ignoring my screaming ovaries, I turn my attention to my sister.

“Open your gift,” I say to Faith, gesturing toward the tiny box I placed beside her when I arrived.

“Wait, Mercy. I need to tell you I’m sorry,” Faith says, her voice barely a whisper as she picks the box up.

“No. You don’t owe me anything, Faith. Nothing that happened, and I mean nothing, was your fault,” I say adamantly. She was not responsible for her pack’s actions. Chasson and Mal will pay for their crimes as they rot in jail.

“In time, we will sit down together and have a good heart to heart, but for now, let’s just take it all one day at a time,” I say reassuringly. My sister has a lot of baggage and a lot of healing to do, and I want to be there for her every step of the way. Hell, we will probably sit side by side on the therapy couch.

Faith nods in understanding as we all watch her open her present. The idea came to me as I thought about what my sister needs right now. What could we give her to help her rebuild her life brick by brick. She removes the ribbon and opens the box. She looks at me, then my mates, her eyebrow raised in question. “A key?” She holds up the key and my mother smiles knowingly, and Grace chuckles. This is not just a gift from me, but from us all.

“For your new home,” Nate states. “We are going to build it for you.”

“On the land beside our house so you will have your space yet still be close to family,” my mother says, her voice wavering with emotion. “You are free, baby. We just want to keep you safe,” she continues.

“You will never be alone,” Grace says, reaching out her hand to Faith and squeezing it tight. My sisters and I had always been close, friends actually, and I was looking forward to making up for lost time, while dragging Freeya along for the ride.

“Never alone,” I repeat, emphasizing Grace’s words. I know it won’t be easy to be around my sisters all the time due to our nature, but damn it, I am determined to get back a semblance of the bond we used to share. I guess only time will tell, but just being in their presence right here, right now, it’s a start.

I look at my family and my mates. I think about all the things that could have gone wrong, how my life could have been different if the cards hadn’t fallen the way they had. I would still be lost, running from who I am, instead of embracing who I was meant to be. I think about how I was only living a half-life until the day I returned to my family and began to breathe again. Will it always be easy? Of course not, this is my life I am speaking of. Will I resist my Omega urges? Yes, I am sure I will, but I will learn and grow, no longer wanting to fight the changes in myself, but accept them. I have my mates, who love me and remind me every day that I am more than just my designation. I am their Alpha, and for me, that is enough.

“I want to help, you, Mercy,” Faith says, pulling me from my thoughts, my eyes focus on her determined ones. In that moment, I see her light, the fire brimming just below the surface. It is all I need to see. Her Alphas thought they broke her, hell, even I thought they did, but she was still there, just beneath the surface.

“Hell yeah!” Freeya shouts in excitement, making everyone laugh at her antics. She’s been a quiet observer until now.

“Help me—”

“Change the world, sister, change the world,” she says fiercely, as her fist wraps around the key like it’s a lifeline. I guess in a way it is, and it will be for many more Omegas like her in the future.

Because I will make sure of it.

EPILOGUE

MERCY

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